Open minds are a terrible thing to waste

My brother is a very open-minded guy. He a computer guy, so when it comes to politics, his approach is to take nothing for granted, listen extensively, and weigh the evidence.

It would be great if my brother lived in a purple state and really got to hear from both sides. Instead, he lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, well within the orbit of the NY Times. A few hours ago, he asked me what I thought of Bob Herbert’s latest column, which alleges that

For many white Americans, Barack Obama is nothing more than that black guy in the White House, and they want him out of there.

Those racist crackers must sure be fickle, because I’m pretty sure they contributed to Obama taking 53% percent of the vote last November. I’m guessing they also contributed mightily to the 70% approval rating Obama enjoyed during his honeymoon.

Anyhow, my brother’s question was slightly more pointed. He asked how you can really gauge to what extent racism exists. I wrote back to my brother:

Hard to know. What’s clear is how desperate Bob Herbert is for evidence to prove his point. All he can come up with is some questionable humor from some obscure Republican staffers.

Of course, if by “racism” one also refers to prejudicial hatred of white people, then it is advisable to consider the church Obama attended for more than a decade, where the congregation welcomed the racist, conspiratorial rantings of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Sure, there are white racists too. But the most offensive things I’ve heard about blacks have come from Hispanics, South Asians, East Asians and other minorities, several of them taxi drivers. If things go badly enough for Obama, maybe Bob Herbert can explain how Punjabis are conspiring against him.